News
downsmail.co.uk Hospital café lease advertised
THE contract to run a new and larger café at Maidstone Hospital is being advertised, inviting in- terest from allcomers, including the likes of coffee chains such as Costa. The successful applicant will
have a new home at the front of the hospital after itwas agreed to relo- cate the hospital’s league of friends activities elsewhere. The league’s oast café and shops
will be converted into a new café, which will be run through an agreed lease. The arrangement is part of work
at the hospital’s main entrance, which is due to be updated for the first time in years this autumn – making it more welcoming to pa- tients, visitors and staff, according to its trust. The redevelopment will also pro-
vide a more open reception desk, improved facilities and better sign- posting. As part of the deal, it is proposed
that Maidstone Hospital League of Friends will manage a new and larger, shop on the site currently used as a seating area. Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells
Trust’s director of estates and facil- ities, Jeanette Rooke, said: “We are delighted to be working with the friends on this exciting new project, which will give the main entrance
Meet big cats
VISITORS will come face to face with some of the world’s most beautiful wild cats at the Wildlife Heritage Foundation’s open days. More than 50 cats, including
tigers, lions, leopards and cheetah will be the star attractions at the events from Thursday, July 17 to Sunday, July 20. Entry is £10 (free for under 5s) and the centre is open from 11am to 5pm each day. There will be a falconry display,
face painting, a barbecue, bouncy castle, arts and crafts and stalls. The charity is based in Headcorn
Road, Smarden. Places must be booked on line. For details, email
enquiries@whf.org.uk, call 01233 771915 or go
towww.whf.org.uk.
Assault sentence
JAMES Sheehy (24), of Ashford Road, Maidstone,was given a com- munity service order at Mid Kent Magistrates Court after he admit- ted assaulting a man in the town. He was ordered to carry out 150
hours of unpaid work within 12 months and to pay compensation of £125 with £85 costs and a £60 victim surcharge.
Conifer faces axe
A CONIFER tree is to be removed at The Street, Bearsted. Maidstone Council gave conser-
vation area permission to fell the tree at Oak Apple Cottage.
32 Maidstone East July 2014
area a cleaner, fresher appearance, with clearer information and a warmer welcome for our patients, visitors and staff. “We hope the project will start
within the next few months andwe look forward to helping the friends design an area that will suit their needs and allow them to continue the vitalwork they do for us.”
It is proposed that the new shop
would be ready for to move into before its existing shop closes. The league of friends has main-
tained a long and successful pres- ence at the hospital, raising thousands of pounds for equip- ment. Its book shop alone raised £22,000 for the hospital in 2011. Chairman of the Maidstone Hos-
MAIDSTONE’S Intensive Care Unit (ICU) has joined with the League of Friends to buy a specialist chair for patients. The chair will help weak patients sit up and get out of bed. It
will help strengthen their posture and muscle activity and boost their morale. Some patients will even be able to go outside with the help of this specialist chair, which cost £3,740. Claire Chalklin, clinical specialist respiratory physiotherapist,
said: “This chair will be of enormous benefit to some of our weakest patients – it will allow them more freedom as well as helping their recovery.” Joyce Langton, chairman of the Maidstone Hospital League
of Friends, said: “The chair is fantastic andwe can see first-hand howmuch of a help it will be to our intensive care patients.” Mrs Langton is pictured with ICU Sister Alison Crayford, nurse
Ligia Rodrigues, physiotherapist Claire Chalklin (clinical special- ist respiratory physiotherapist) and Graham Neads (league of friends).
Interact club awarded charter
INVICTAGrammar School’s Interact Club received its charter at a recent meeting of the Maidstone Riverside Rotary Club. Guests including the former Mayor of Maid- stone Cllr Clive English saw Interact president Alice Musgrove receive a badge of office and cer- tificate on behalf of the school. Head teacher Julie Derrick welcomed guests and spoke about the ethos of the school while Alice gave an insight into the events held, along with a brief history of the group, founded two years ago. She concluded her speech by thanking her team for their hardwork. Ellie Monks-Walker and Georgia Phipps explained how they had
raised £1,000 for their local charity, Trinity Foyer in Maidstone. During the more formal part of the proceedings, members were pre-
sented with Rotary pins and both the retiring president Alice, and the in- coming president, Sophie Aujard, were given their charter, badge and a cheque towards their fundraising.
Decathlete’s gold hopes
MAIDSTONE athlete Martin Brockman is set to represent Eng- land in the decathlon at the Com- monwealth Games in Glasgow, which begin on July 23. The 27-year-old former Oak-
wood Park Grammar School stu- dent became a full-time athlete at 18, bringing back a bronze medal from the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in 2010. In between training at Brunel University under the guidance of coach Ian Grant, Martin, whose club is Medway & Maidstone, is taking a degree in sports science and management at St Mary’s Uni- versity College, London.
Businesses given relief to fill shops
PLANS to fill some of Maid- stone’s empty shops have taken a step forward, with the council bringing in new rules on busi- ness rate relief. Businesses moving into empty
shops in the borough will re- ceive an 18-month break on their business rates to help boost busi- ness and reduce the number of empty shops. The business rates reoccupa-
tion relief scheme gives a 50% discount on business rates for the first 18 months after a busi- ness moves into a shop that has been empty for 12 months or more, regardless of what that business is. Cllr Steve McLoughlin, Maid-
stone’s cabinet member for cor- porate services, said: “The relief will be a welcome boost for new businesses and our local econ-
omy, while filling our empty shops which is great news for our town and villages.” Maidstone Council will ad- minister the scheme, with the cost being met by central gov- ernment.
Businesses looking to find out
more about the scheme should go to Maidstone Council’s web- site at
www.maidstone.gov.uk or telephone 01622 602230.
pital League of Friends, Joyce Langton, said: “We are pleased to be working with the trust on this new development to provide the league of friends with a shop in a prime position in the Maidstone Hospital main entrance. “We are still talking to the trust regarding a suitable location for the league of friends’ book shop.”
Friends join ICU to provide therapy chair
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64